SLAPCEO SUGGESTIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

SLAPCEO suggested the following to be considered in the preparation of the National Budget 2022.

The below recommendations were made and incorporated.

1. 5-year Private Public Partnership MICE /Destination Events development plan to be introduced to increase the number of MICE /Destination Events travelers and also to make Sri Lanka as the MICE /Destination Events hub of South Asia.
2. Government to allocate land and supporting infrastructure facilities to build a temporary Exhibition Centre with the participation of the private sector in the City of Colombo for a period of 5 years until the Exhibition & Convention Centre at Port City comes to a completion.
3. Tax exemption to be given for foreign investment related to MICE /Destination Events
4. infrastructure development.
5. All destination events/Inbound events should be exempted from VAT as this tax exemption is already offered to the inbound tour business.
6. Visa fees for MICE /Destination Events travelers should be made the same as the fee of holidaymakers.
7. Declaring of MICE E-Zones in order to attract more investments and creative industries related to MICE quickly and effectively.